• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Who is Levi Strauss? History of the brand Culture Sub-brands Levi’s Dockers Signature by Levi & Strauss Co. dENiZEN Brand Essence Brand Positioning Interview/Consumer Profile Celebrity Endorsement Communication Channels New Concept
2 3-5 6 7 8-9 10-11 12-14 15-16 19-20 21-22 23-24 25-26 27-28 29-33
Who is Levi Strauss? Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829 and moved to America in 1847 to work for his brother’s dry goods business. 6 years later, Strauss went West where he launched his own dry goods and clothing company – where his jeans (the blue jeans) first started; however they were known as heavy-duty work pants.
(The story)
Jacob Davis, a tailor from Nevada thought an idea to use copper rivets to reinforce the points of strain front fly seam to resist wear and tear on pants. He then wrote to Strauss asking for his help with costs in 1872 and ended up getting the patent of the idea in 1873. Successfully, Strauss believed that there would be a big demand for these ‘waist overalls’ which is what he called the ‘blue jeans’ at the start. At first, these pants were made with a heavy canvas fabric, but the company then decided to switch to a denim fabric and dyed it blue to supposedly hide stains. These jeans helped make Strauss a millionaire and he was able to expand his business interests, and ended up buying the Mission and Pacific Woolen Mills in 1875. The jeans became popular with the miners during the California gold rush; the business just went from strength to strength. The innovation of the rivets in the jeans singled Levi’s out of others due to the durability of the pants.
Fig.1
Levi Strauss & Co. aka Levi’s, was founded by Levi Strauss, in 1853. It is a privately held American clothing company known for its brand of denim jeans. Over a century ago, Levi Strauss invented blue jeans.
Strauss died at the age of 73 on September 26, 1902, at his home in San Francisco. After his death, his nephew Jacob Stern took over as company president. The legendary jeans he helped create, known as Levi’s or Levis, continued to grow in popularity and have remained a fashion staple over the decades, worldwide. Since 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. has outfitted the world in denim.
When Levi Strauss co-invented the blue jean in 1873, he had no idea that he was creating something that was going to go global, also to become known for self-expression and classic American cool. That’s the beauty of the Levi’s® story. Levi’s have succeeded in adapting its brands all over the world; one being UK. Recently, Levi’s has become a big trend in youth fashion; however, the 501’s aren’t looking or being worn the same way as they were originally made for. The youth of today have been creating their own 501’s, by manipulating them in several ways – cutting, dyeing, embellishing etc. The brand has been adopted into the festival culture; both male and female festival goers are wearing Levi’s, whether they are as the denim trousers or shorts. From this, I think that they are still maintaining that hard wearing/durable brand DNA of the blue jean.
‘We invented the blue jean. And we’re reinventing what it means to wear them.’ - www.levi.com Fig.2
The Levi’s brand is all about the classic American style and effortless cool. Since Levi’s patented their riveted clothing by Jacob Davis and founder Levi Strauss, Levi’s jeans have become the most popular and recognisable clothing, having other companies imitating their idea. However, the brand portfolio continues to expand and evolve due to devoted, spiritful employees and their innovative ideas making Levi’s continue growing in the apparel industry. The products are available in more than 110 countries, and allow consumers worldwide to express their personal style through Levi’s, the brand. Levi Strauss have sub brands, such as ‘The Levi’s’, ‘The Dockers’, ‘Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.’ and ‘the dENiZEN’.
Fig.3
‘Unrivalled construction. Tried and tested. American originals.’
The next brand is ‘The Dockers’; who has been the definition of authentic khaki for 25 years – for men and women. Still representing the quality of Levi’s the brand, through just versatile, essential style. They have taken an admired brand and made it stronger; Dockers have thought of fresh ideas to bring this brand back to life – with new collections in stores across the US, and the global marketing campaign. ‘Wear the Pants’. They have reinvented the category for today.
Fig.4
Fig 5
Then the 3rd brand Levi’s launched 10 years ago – ‘Signature by Levi Strauss & Co’; is aimed for the value-conscious consumers. Signature provides a variety of high quality products for men, women and children, at affordable prices (all prices under $25). Maintaining its name and trust in the company, these jeans and casual wear are made from premium, heavy weight denim which is then detailed with vintage finishes and metal rivets – looking back at how Levi’s got started and became the brand it is now. Fig.6
‘A rough and tough work ethic is deeply rooted in our family tree.’
The final brand of the Levi’s family is ‘the dENiZEN’ which means ‘inhabitant’ – providing well-made jeans exclusively to the retail store ‘Target’ shoppers and the website. This brand is aimed for families with great-fitting, great-looking jeans in various fits for the entire family – just offers the quality making and authentic style which has made Levi Strauss & Co. worldfamous since the start.
Fig.7
Fig.8
An original company for over 150 years, Levi’s brand promise is to keep the trust with consumers; being known for quality and long lasting products, it is important that the brand never breaks this reputation. Levi’s is credible for their recognition of the invention of the blue jean, and also still being successful after being around long than a century. Their mission is to stay an original brand and patent their invention which is the key to the success of the brand. In recognition of the support Levi’s have had from customers, they believe that it is fair and their responsibility is to give back to the company’s worldwide community.
Fig.9
Levi’s is the brand of individuality, and originality. The brand strives to provide everybody workday wardrobes globally, with their high quality products. ‘People love our clothes and trust our company… Our products define quality, style and function. We will clothe the world’ – www.levis.com The brand stands for their hard wearing/durable products – 501 series jeans (which are the most popular type of jean at Levi’s), Levi’s Eco Jeans, and the rest of the products included within their sub-brands (Levi’s, Docker’s, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co., and dENiZEN’.
Own Brands
Levi’s have a variety of competitors as even though they are known as a denim brand with its obvious competitors such as: Lee Wrangler, Calvin Klein Jeans and GAP. Different types of clothing fall under one category. Other competitors include: Armani Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger, Pepe and Gio Goi. Most of these falls under traditional jean brands, which Levi’s is but the brand is starting to expand and position itself more of a contemporary, high quality brand. As a brand, Levi’s is currently targeting two different segments – 35-44 year olds who prefer premium jeans then others who prefer the vintage look of the jeans. Having these different sub-brands under Levi’s, when positioning target market it depends on the consumer segments. Due to the fashion cultures it has been adopted into; Levi’s target market can range from 18 to 30. Although they are attempting to target these younger customers with its youthful approach to promoting, the brand will always be most popular with older generations.
Fig.10
Competitors
Levi’s have been connected with celebrities, being such a successful brand – many celebrities are known for either promoting or wearing Levi’s products. A recent celebrity endorsement is signing Iggy Azalea to be the face of ‘Go Forth’ campaign in 2012, which was a huge hit featuring the next big female rapper in their new campaign. Fig.11
Levi’s are on point with social media, with a website, facebook page, twitter page, pinterest boards, and youtube channel. It is important to the brand that they communicate with their customers and even future customers as much as possible. Having a varied target market – if they are striving to appeal more to a younger audience, the brand must keep up with the latest on social media, as social media is taking over the fashion industry by storm therefore it is a prime spot to market brands etc.
Fortunately, recently Levi’s has pioneered the social networking world – especially with their youtube videos. Their channel features videos worldwide and not just promoting their products but showcasing different events. Levi’s are quite well known for their innovative videos – with their 501’s launderette advert attracting new customers and their 2011 ‘Go Forth’ video going viral. Levi’s is definitely not a brand that fails to successfully communicate with customers, however having their original older target market, their change into a more youthful approach to marketing has yet to be recognised more.
Fig.12 Levi’s aren’t only known for the quality of the products but quality of their store interior. The team focus on the craft of the brand, creativity in denim and telling a story in a artistry way to give consumers a unique shopping experience, as well as understanding that the brand is creative, inventive and masters of its craft. The detail in the architecture within the store is recognised – there is almost a journey through the origins of denim and the feel of a workshop. All interior in Levi’s stores, especially in their flagship store – the furniture is always connecting to the craft of Levi’s and the roots.
Q&A:
Levi’s Store Manager Where would you place Levi’s in the market as a brand? Allover, such a diverse customer base as it’s an old heritage brand being around for 160 years, so it’s like we invented the market really. Modern day though, we go towards a more fashion aspect; making ladieswear more feminine but Levi’s products aren’t about the prettiness, more about the use. The price bracket however is mid-premium. Who would you say your competitors were? Depending on customer base again, it differentiates between the older and younger audience e.g. a 50 year old father who has been wearing 501’s all his life then a 19 year old student. Levi’s marketing is so universal. What does Levi’s stand for? Origin of the brand was basic work wear, a job to do which reflects the honesty about the brand. Levi’s aren’t made to be cool; it is more of a basic brand which is worn by cool people. How do you make sure in store visual merchandising is reflecting the brand successfully? Again, dividing the story; from the ladies wear to the menswear etc. We tend to just allow the product to speak for itself. In our stores, the heritage is always presented and we have that warehouse, hardware store kind of vibe as that’s where we originally were selling in – numbers and racking like selling noughts and bolts.
Consumer Profile Demographic: - Upper/Middle class - Educated - High disposable income Psychographic: - Busy work ethic - Style conscious - Looks for quality Geographic/usage: - Settled with a family - Lives in the city - Buys quality brands ‘The brand will appeal to consumers with their own personality traits’ - Harriet Poser
Bringing back the history of the brand – Levi’s have every kind of casual clothing out, however I’ve found a gap in the brand and that’s sportswear - specialising in ski wear. However, not only is it just going to be a new collection with the Levi’s brand on it, I feel the history should be part of it, therefore I have thought of a new concept of a new collection/line of sportswear that are hard-wearing/ durable but with the look of denim.
Inspired by 1950’s and the first blue jeans – the sportswear will be made of good quality, hard wearing fabrics and some products to take on the denim look however, without the denim fabric so wearers are able to be practical but also look stylish too; which is what Levi’s promise their consumers – style and quality in their products.
Fig.13
The name of the collection will be Levi’s ‘Freestyle’; ‘Freestyle’ means acrobatics on skis. I believe the name reflects excitement in the sport and also how the brand is free styling to launch this collection which is a different but new direction to take. With its youthful style but practical uses; consumers are also able to freestyle with this collection the way they’d like. Having specialising this collection on skiing – I think will attract the upper class, older audience, the younger audience going to ski seasons/festivals and even families as it can be a family sport/holiday; attract three segments of target market, free styling. There is no limit to this new collection of sportswear/skiwear because the brand is bringing back the history, taking in new cultures and where as a brand they are being adopted into – such as festivals, younger audience attend wearing sportswear as casual wear which this collection will be acceptable for. It’s in the name ‘Freestyle’ – collection to freestyle your own identity to.
With making sure Levi’s aren’t being downgraded by this new concept; the prices will be kept high- over the £70 benchmark but will mark it by the quality of the products as consumers of Levi’s are paying for quality and style. The prices have been considered to be suitable for Levi’s and the sportswear market, especially ski wear. To promote this brand new idea – as Levi’s are known for their advertisements and videos, we will be releasing a pre-launch advertisement for this collection. Then keeping up with the social networking sites, all have links to this promo video. This will grab attention from existing consumers connected to Levi’s through social media and the younger target market. I feel this new concept will broaden the consumer base, which Levi’s aim currently is and allow them to experiment and explore other areas with this idea, expanding the brand and target market. Especially with the range of consumer bases this collection will appeal to and attract – it will provide a different outlook on Levi’s but keep the brand identity of quality and style.
FONT - Shy Fonts. (2002). SF Scribbled Font. Available: http://www.dafont. com/sf-scribbled-sans.font?text=References. Last accessed 22nd Jan 2014 http://www.levi.com/gb/en_GB http://www.levistrauss.com/brands http://signaturebylevistrauss.com/us/default.asp http://www.denizen.com/ http://manthan-logomanthan.blogspot.co.uk/ - 501 logo - Ian Cocoran. (2001). It Ain’t Easy Being Blue. Available: http://www. brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=24. Last accessed 16th Jan 2014 - Lani Bitchie. (2012). Rapper Iggy Azalea Lands Endorsement Deal With Levi. Available: http://necolebitchie.com/2012/09/10/rapper-iggy-azalea-lands-endorsement-deal-with-levi/. Last accessed 20th Jan 2014. - Michael Endlor. (2011). Levi Strauss And Social Media: A Perfect Fit. Available: http://www.informationweek.com/it-leadership/levi-straussand-social-media-a-perfect-fit/d/d-id/1100008. Last accessed 15th Jan 2014. - R S Raghav. (2008). Levi’s Brand Equity. Available: http://www.slideshare.net/rsraghav/levis-brand-equity-presentation. Last accessed 18th Jan 2014. - The Times 100. (2005). Reclaiming the identity of a brand. Available: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/levis/reclaiming-the-identity-of-abrand/conclusion.html#axzz2r66a1k1c. Last accessed 14th Jan 2014. - UK Essays. (2009). Levi Strauss Case Study. Available: http://www. ukessays.co.uk/essays/marketing/levi-strauss.php. Last accessed 9th Jan 2014. - Unzipped . (2011). Unzipped Levi’s. Available: http://unzipped.overblog.com/5-index.html. Last accessed 14th Jan 2014 - Wikipedia. (2000). Levi Strauss & Co. Available: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Levi_Strauss_%26_Co.. Last accessed 14th Jan 2014.
IMAGERY - Fig.1: Levi’s 501 History image -Thomas Bojer. (2011). Levi’s Vintage Clothing. Available: http://denimhunters.com/2011/12/lvceng/. Last accessed 12th Jan 2014. - Fig.2: Female Celeb Festival Fashion - In Style. (2013). Celebrity Festival Fashion. Available: http://www.instyle.co.uk/celebrity/pictures/celebrity-festival-fashion. Last accessed 20th Jan 2014. - Fig.3: Go Forth Flag Image - New People. (2009). Meet that Steve guy. Available: http://blog.wkstudio.com/?p=870. Last accessed 17th Jan 2014. - Fig.4: Levi’s Collage - Levi’s. (2008). About Levi’s Products. Available: http://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/about/our-products. Last accessed 16th Jan 2014 - Fig.5: Dockers Campaign - Duncan Macloed. (2009). Dockers Wears The Pants. Available: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/dockerswear-the-pants/. Last accessed 15th Jan 2014. - Fig.6: Dockers Campaign - People Style. (2011). The Selby for Dockers Spring 2011 Campaign . Available: http://www.porhomme. com/2011/02/the-selby-for-dockers-spring-2011-campaign/. Last accessed 17th Jan 2014 - Fig.7: Signature Campaign - http://www.levistrauss.com/brands/signature-by-levi-strauss - Fig.8: Vintage Levi’s Advert - Alva Roa. (2011). Vintage Levi’s Ads. Available: http://alvaroa101.blog.com/2011/12/13/vintage-levis-ads/. Last accessed 14th Jan 2014. - Fig.9: Levi’sGive image - Fig.10: Josh Beech 501 Campaign - frillr. (2008). 501 Ad Campaign. Available: http://frillr.com/?q=taxonomy/term/1901. Last accessed 21st Jan 2014. - Fig.11: Female Rappers. (2012). Iggy Azalea Fronts New Levi Campaign. Available: http://femalerappers.net/photos-iggy-azalea-fronts-new-levicampaign/levis-iggy-7/. Last accessed 21st Jan 2014. - Fig.12: Levi’s Flagship store - Julian Elerby. (2010). VINTAGE JEANS: NEW LEVI’S FLAGSHIP FOCUSES ON BRAND HERITAGE. Available: https:// www.lsnglobal.com/seed/view/1709. Last accessed 15th Jan 2014.
- Fig.13: Go Forth Ad Strip - Melodie McDaniel. (2010). Levi’s: Go Forth. Available: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/levis_go_forth. Last accessed 15th Jan 2014. Words -